Cruel Insight
by Deception's Call
Summary: The world's point of view of Tony Stark as they watch him fly a nuke through a portal, and discover how maybe they were wrong about the man who hid behind a mask of armor.


**It's been a while, 2 weeks I think? Yeah I've been busy so I haven't updated Smoke, Diamonds and Ashes much, so now that it's spring break I'll try to get it updated. **

**Anyway here's a short one shot for you fellow fans out there :D **

**A friendly reminder that Iron Man 3 comes out VERY soon! I can feel the fangirl inside me bubble up from the pits of despair. **

**Anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers.**

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It wasn't something that any of them expected. Especially that day. It was a Tuesday, with the roads bustling with cars and people with places to be and people to see. The sun was high up in the sky, shining a bright light over the city and making Manhattan gleam like diamonds in all its glory.

That day, the world never saw it coming.

It was hard to miss the beam of a brilliant blue light shooting up towards the sky from the balcony of Stark Tower. It was even harder to miss the flock of aliens that were soon flying through the sky creating chaos and destruction.

Explosions racked the city back and forth, flames of fire littered the streets, cars that were abandoned were soon set ablaze, and the next thing that everyone knows is that a group of people are walking through the ashes and that they are _fighting _to keep the city safe.

They called them the Avengers.

It was hard to miss the streak of red and gold cutting through the sky like a blade.

It was even harder to miss that this streak of red and gold was carrying a nuke on its back.

The world held its breath as it watched Iron Man race towards the portal, battling through the ashes and flames that littered his way.

The world let out a gasp of disbelief as Iron Man disappeared through the portal.

The world thought, as each second felt like eternity, how wrong they were about the man inside the suit made of iron.

It was no secret how this man, this billionaire CEO, acted four years ago, before the disastrous demonstration in Afghanistan.

His ways, with countless women and alcohol and gambling, was the source of many scandals over the years that Tony Stark was put in the spotlight.

Before Afghanistan, the world was ruthless, and cruel, and demeaning to a man called Tony Stark. They called him a whore, a cheat, a liar and a killer. He was anything but a hero.

No one could see it coming.

No one saw that this _broken _man was hiding behind a mask even before he had a suit of armor.

He was a cruel man to the eyes of the public, a man with no self-worth, a man who simply did not care.

The world thought that they were looking at a man who thought he was too good for the world, when in truth, that man thought that the world was too good for him.

The woman that he slept with, those who just witnessed that same ruthless and heartless man race towards the portal in the sky with a nuke on his back, realized that he had changed. He was not the same man, and they certainly never expected that this man would put his life on the line for the world who judged him.

The world would have never guessed that the man they ridiculed and hurt for years, would be the one to risk his life to save them all.

Because yes, Tony Stark was a playboy, he was heartless, he was cruel and he did not have a care in the world. But that was in the past.

And perhaps the world never realized that it was in the past. Perhaps they never realized that they continued to hold on to the poisonous strings of history, when in fact, those strings were already ripped and cut apart.

But now, with the portal closing and Iron Man still missing through the depths of the portal, did the world finally realize that they were wrong.

But then, like the grand finale in all epic tales, something red and gold was falling down through the sky.

_Falling, _not flying.

So the world held its breath again as Iron Man was caught by the Hulk, and put to safety on the ground.

But that little circle of light that was the one remaining reminder and scar of this billionaire's time in captivity, that little circle of light was flamed out.

What could the world do, but watch?

Seconds pass, and the light is still out, and the world is just about to accept that this man who they so wrongly misunderstood, was dead.

But suddenly, a roar resounded through the streets, shaking the buildings and the souls of the world and brought that light back to life.

It wasn't something that any of them expected. Especially that day. The world didn't expect that that was going to be the day that Tony Stark proved them all wrong.

He was crazy, a certifiably insane man with a bad track record. But it's usually the crazy ones, the ones who think they can change the world, are the ones that usually do.

The world held its breath that day for the man that they judged too early prove to be the man that they judged too soon.

That day, the world found out that Tony Stark does indeed have a heart.

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**There is something seriously, seriously wrong with me. For some weird reason, I'm having trouble writing, and I do not, in any form have writer's block because I have a ton of ideas swimming around in my head and written down on my iPad. I'm just having trouble writing? So I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this or if it's just absolute crap which it probably is because **_**I just couldn't execute it right. **_

**Grr. Writer problems. **

**Anyway, hopefully I can get my mojo back –fingers crossed- **

**Reviews for the Angst – Ridden Soul? **

**You guys are amazing!**


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